15:06 03.05.2019

SAPO, NABU and HACC should yield results in near future or tell public why there are none – Zelensky's advisor

2 min read

The anti-corruption system of Ukraine should in the near future show the real results of its work or explain to Ukrainian society why there are none, Ruslan Riaboshapka, an adviser to President-elect of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and ex-member of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), has said.

"As for the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), we think that these bodies must start working efficiently now and to produce results in the near future. We know that the Anti-Corruption Court will start its work in a couple of months, and in fact the last obstacle in the work of these bodies will be removed," Riaboshapka told reporters in Brussels on Friday after meeting with European diplomats and diplomatic advisers to EU leaders.

According to him, criminal cases against senior officials, top politicians should appear in the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) in the near future. The court should have considered such first cases before the end of the year, which, among other things, is one of the obligations of Ukraine to international partners.

"If there is no such result, then it is necessary that the leaders of the anti-corruption departments respond to the whole society and those 73% who supported the new president, why there are no results from the work of the prosecutor's office and the NABU," Riaboshapka said.

He recalled that Zelensky clearly stated that incumbent Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko cannot remain in his post, but who will be the next - the newly elected president has not voiced such a decision yet. "But we also understand that there should be support from the parliament, since such a decision is agreed by the parliament," the adviser to the newly elected president said.

He also noted that "actually random people, who are politically dependent" are working at the NACP now, which is responsible for the electronic declarations submitted by officials, conflicts of interests and political corruption. "This agency will not be able to work normally, in any case, and the only option is to change the leadership of this body," said Riaboshapka.

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